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Verizon Raising Price of Extended Warranty to $3.00, Total Equipment Coverage to $8.00 This Month

Over the past couple of days, we’ve had a couple of sources reach out to let us know that Verizon is on the verge of raising the prices of their Extended Warranty and Total Equipment Coverage (TEC) plans this month. Each will jump $1.01 for basic and smartphones (excluding the iPhone) on July 25 for new customers (or those new to EW and TEC). So you are looking at $3.00 for and Extended Warranty and $8.00 for TEC. If you are currently enrolled in either service plan, you will have until September 26 before your bill will change.

For those who are already enrolled, the Extended Warranty will jump from $1.99 to $3.00 per device per month in September, while TEC will jump from $6.99 to $8.00. The iPhone and tablets will remain at $9.99.

Here are some additional details:

Why the price change?

We work to deliver a superior customer experience and to maintain costs so that our customers can protect their wireless investments. To continue to offer customers the best choices in wireless equipment protection, the EW and TEC price is changing.

Timing

-New customers: effective date is 7/25/13. New customers include those who are:

New to Verizon Wireless and to EW or TEC.

Existing customers adding EW or TEC for the first time to an existing or new line of service.

-Existing customers with EW or TEC service: effective date is 9/26/13.
-Existing customers will be sent notification letters of the price change between 7/10/13- 7/26/13.

So, there you have it.

Update: We reached out to Verizon and they have since confirmed the changes will go live on July 25.

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Silly question, but could I get out of my contract, because I agreed to pay x amount of money each month, and now they want me to pay more? I have 4 smart phones and that’s gonna get pricey…

Tim

Looking to jump ship, wonder if this can get me out of my contact? Doubtful but if I can I will….

john

so can I opt out of my contract early because of this change?

Marsg

Verizons next new feature will be called the ” Give Verizon 15 bucks” feature, I was joking at first but now it seems plausible they already milked us for everything they could. First they took away unlimited data, then they introduced the new more expensive plans which we have no choice but to switch to if we want subsidized devices, than on top of that anyone currently with unlimited data will loose it, than they extended our device upgrade by another 4 months so they could charge us on upgrading early with that new unsubsidized device plan, and now even our warranty is being raised even though Verizon warranty sucks monkey b*lls, all they do is give you a refurbished device and your probably going to go through 4 of them before you actually get one without any hardware problems. And then they say things like we need to charge you more so we can keep offering our superior customer service. Yeah oookkkk

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

Solution: don’t lose or damage your device. I’ve been without TEC or EW for nearly 10 years now and have lost a phone only once in that time.

r00t4rd3d

Verizon, just like AT&T, is a scumbag American company the world could do without. Just so everyone knows if a company tries to change a contract after its already been signed you can get out of that contract with zero penalties.

Asimoalex

This is why I have geeksquad instead…

areffes

Sometimes I think people have to beyotch just for the sake of beyotching. Seriously, does a dollar and a penny bump really affect your life? Insurance companies have to change rates sometimes because stuff gets more expensive to replace. It’s not rocket science. And it’s not The Man trying to screw you, either. My car insurance also costs more than it used to. Because, guess what? Five years ago, the average car cost $27 grand to replace and today it costs $30 grand. I don’t begrudge a company for trying to stay in business out stay profitable. If you’re that hard up for one dollar, you might want to rethink even owning a smartphone at all. Drop mic. **

George264

It’s almost like they want us to jump ship.

Jason

It’s not Verizon.

It’s Asurion. Why people don’t get this, I’ll never know. Also why people complain about the price of insurance, and then their phone gets stolen and they’re SOL I’ll never know.

We need to stop this subsidized phone crap and have people pay for their phones based on the worth of the device. Then people might understand how this whole game works. $8/month isn’t bad if you constantly destroy phones. I’ve never had the urge to replace my device except for the one time I left my razr (flip phone) at a rest area… years ago.

Guest

It’s a joke that they charge you full retail price for a refurb if they deem the phone’s issue to be the user’s fault,

http://bane-tech.com/ Josh Bane

There are much better device insurance options now like SquareTrade.

savagebeast0123

I get it. It always sucks when prices go up. But despite what you think. “Verizon” is NOT the ones raising the price on insurance or extended warranties. Verizon works through a 3rd party insurance company called Asurion. They are the ones increasing their rates, although its on your Verizon bill so you think Verizon charges you.

Jake

Verizon uses a company called Asurion for their phone protection. This price raise it most likely out of Verizon’s control. Im glad my company sell’s ProtectCell, which is a way better provider.

brennen

asurion is not verizon. This is asurion raising prices.

JP

The piece of mind is worth it to me. I got my phone stolen last year and had it replaced for $99. The next day. Considering what off-contract devices cost, I think I got a great deal. Sure i could technically get a POS as a replacement, but that is just not an option for me.

Maybe the math doesn’t work out perfectly, but I like knowing I will not be without a current device if something happens to mine.

You’re just paying for the phone again. Might as well buy a cheap $150 phone, even if you’re a generation behind and avoid breaking it.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Is it only $99?

dawgh

its free if it phone issue

anezarati

i understand where you are coming from on the cheap phone, but if you want a decent smartphone, $291 is a lot cheaper than $600

tomn1ce

Or pick up the OG Droid for $40 or $90… -_-

Michael

Is that the HD in the background? Also love how you used the Gnex as the image for this!

Daeshaun Griffiths

Its because the moto x has cheap replacable parts.

Octotron

Verizon – for when your plan isn’t already expensive enough.

Daeshaun Griffiths

Who are you? :0

Sirx

Plucked the thought right out of my head! lol. I already have my question ready for the next Droid Life Q&A…

Octotron

Been around since time in memoriam. I lurk the comments and try and keep out some of the really awful stuff when I have free time.

Ryan Powell

Well in defense of Verizon it does cost a lot to make logos so big on their devices.

LiterofCola

How original.

Ry Sav

i just get the bestbuy plan and get new phones whenever, so this doesnt really bother me

Weber

Just don’t get TEC coverage, and you’ll be ok. I know my Verizon store charges a one-time fee of $80, then if you need a phone after that, it’s $75. You don’t pay any monthly fees. And they don’t tell you to gtfo like TEC.

Fresh360

Are u saying if I drop my phone in a glass of whiskey, then line dance on it the VZW store will replace it for $80? This seems too good to be true, can you give a little more detail please?

Weber

Idk if the liquid matters per se, but I know that the VZW store I deal with in Louisiana charges a fee up front, as I said. You have 30 days from the time of buying your phone to get this coverage. From that point on, any time you need a replacement, you go into the store, pay the $75 deductible, and walk out with a new phone. Not a refurbished, but brand new, provided they have the phone in stock. They’ll give you a different color if they have it.

SomeDooD123

Hmmm… have never heard of this before.

Slot_Machine

Its probably E-securitel or one of the insurances the 3rd party vzw stores offer

Weber

Keep in mind that this may be limited to that chain of VZW stores, depending on maybe some deal that they have worked out with a different insurance provider. I’ll have to get the exact details, but that’s how it works for me.

Fresh360

Maybe so, I will inquire about this when my contract is up and I have to buy a new phone…I was thinking about using ‘Square Trade’ next time but no monthly fee is even better. Thanks

Weber

I got the full scoop.
So when you get your subsidized phone, you have 30 days to get the insurance through the store (they didn’t know if it was limited to their store). Depending on the phone depends on the price. In my experience, it’s never more than $75, and it covers you for the full two years of your contract. Your second claim is double.
After your second claim, you re-register ($75), and can keep getting phones in-house. These phones are brand new, as opposed to Asurion, who sends you refurbished phones. Asurion also tells you to gtfo after two claims in a year. So, doing the math, the in-house insurance I can purchase is actually cheaper in the long run, and you get a brand new phone.
So I’d advise that you check with a VZW store to see if they offer this.

Fresh360

GREAT info, thanks I really appreciate it. Last question how much is the upfront fee you pay for the insurance? Or was it only a fee when u file a claim?

Weber

The fee is $75-100, depending on the phone. You don’t pay another fee until you make a second claim. If your phone breaks the first time, you’ve already paid your deductible. You just go in and get a new phone.
The only drawback is that if they don’t have the phone at the store, you may have to wait until their next shipment, unlike Asurion, where you usually get the phone the next day.

EDIT: In other words, the first fee you pay before 30 days after buying your phone IS the only fee until you break your phone a second time. If you can be careful with your phone, the insurance through the store (provided that it’s ACTUALLY provided everywhere) turns out to be a hell of a lot cheaper.

Darrell Malloy

That is service offered by an indirect/premium retailer. Not Verizon themselves. I’ve always found those ones a little sketchy.

timrcm

It’s probably just a local deal in your area.

David Wanless

Verizon raise prices on their services so often these days my reaction is now this…

Quint

Waiting for the vanilla insurance price to change. Surely, it can’t remain at $5.18.

Tom-A$$

They didn’t explain anything in “why is the price changing” portion. Sentence one merely states how hard they work to offer products & services to their customers (duh). Sentence two simply says the price is going up (duh, but still not an explanation).

Mike Hilal

There is no need. New customers will pay more, existing customers adding the service for the first time will pay more. Verizon is raising prices.

exactly what i said to myself before i even finished reading the article

ben

im no lip reader but i do believe he is saying “FUN!”

michael arazan

Clearly he is saying Frack

Miguel Angel Portela

Sometimes I regret jumping to T-Mobile. But then I’m like, no.

timrcm

…I’m all for hating on Verizon, but can you at least make sense while you do it? T-Mobile’s equivalent equipment insurance plan is $12/mo.

Miguel Angel Portela

I’m not really hating on them. It’s just that whenever you think that they can’t get more expensive they find a way. It’s absurd. Besides, I don’t use insurance. If anything ever happens to my phone, I get it and wait a couple of days, then report the incident. Chintzy? Sure, but Hell. And even if I did pay it each month, the plan would still be cheaper than Verizon in the end.

Geoff Johnson

It’s people like you that contribute to these rate increases.

Jason

It’s not chintzy, it’s actually insurance fraud. That will carry jail time dude.

Miguel Angel Portela

Oh my. That was short sighted of me… -_-; how did I never realize that?

timrcm

You actually.. can’t do that? You have to purchase the equipment coverage within 30 days of the phone purchase. If it isn’t done THE DAY you buy the phone, you also typically have to purchase it in a Verizon (or in your case T-Mobile) retailer so that they can inspect your phone in person before adding it to the plan. Do you really think they’d be stupid enough to allow you to do that? Insurance fraud is still possible, but they aren’t going to practically hand it to you.

John Seah

Every so often Verizon does have an open enrollment period where they allow you to add insurance to your line (they did it this past March). When adding the insurance, you do it online and they never ask to inspect your phone to make sure it is fine.

ObamaCare

Still cheaper than Sprint’s TEC…then agai no one cares about Sprint.

Dave

Just give him the fudge already!

Eric

People are actually buying extended warranty’s?

Eric R.

I got it since the Razrs battery is nonremovable

Eric

I would never buy that in the first place no matter how big the battery is.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Well it’s pretty much the standard plan to get your phone replaced

Eric

Or just don’t drop your phone.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Sure. Thanks for the heads up

https://www.facebook.com/aaron.williams.125 Champion1229

That is way easier said than done! Even with an Otterbox defender I have managed to break an HTC Thunderbolt and I just recently cracked a Droid Razr with a TPU case. Needless to say you can’t just stick with the whole “well just don’t drop your phone” argument because there is always gonna be something that you can’t predict and sometimes your luck just runs out. Just like how I couldn’t have known that when you drop an Otterbox case and it lands on the screen side, there is almost no impact protection on the Thunderbolt models or how it was just my luck that when I dropped my Razr down a small flight of stairs leading down to a friend’s porch that there was a giant rock right there (which it just happened to smash into on the corner).

Eric

you can if you own a samsung phone and even if you do its crap plastic that wont break.

https://www.facebook.com/aaron.williams.125 Champion1229

The screen is still glass and will break if it gets hit hard enough! I don’t care what brand it is or what they claim nothing is indestructible!

Eric

never had mine fall on the screen.

timrcm

No, but any phone is capable of lasting a few years of NORMAL wear and tear. Stop dropping the damn thing on concrete and you’ll be fine. Keep it in your hand or in your pocket.

timrcm

Okay, “don’t be a clutz”. I’ve never dropped any phone. Ever.

Eric

I rarely drop mine.

https://www.facebook.com/aaron.williams.125 Champion1229

It only takes one drop to completely shatter the screen!

tomn1ce

dropping it is one things but sometimes they grow legs/wings and they walk/run or fly away…

James Hill

How about looking at cases other than an Otterbox brand?

timrcm

Eh, the total coverage dealio is actually a good insurance plan (although wildly overpriced), especially considering it covers lost/stolen devices. Just the extended warranty though? Might as well piss your money away as far as that goes.

https://www.facebook.com/aaron.williams.125 Champion1229

I thought the actual insurance was a separate plan through Asurion?

LP @ThisisEther

Extended warranty works, you get a like new phone if something goes wrong (outside of cosmetic damage)….

Jack Hoffman

I still don’t understand how they can change these things while you are already IN CONTRACT for those items…

Doesn’t seem legal…though I’m sure it is…

http://randomphantasmagoria.com/ Shawn

Your device coverage is not part of your contract. That’s an optional service that you can remove at will. Just like any other plan change.

http://randomphantasmagoria.com/ Shawn

Oh lawd. Queue the “Greedy Verizon, sticking it to their customers YET AGAIN. Screw them. I’m leaving when my contract’s up. (but really I won’t because they’re the best carrier in the United States)” comments.

trixnkix637

sarcastic much?

http://randomphantasmagoria.com/ Shawn

Yep. Sarcasm is my native language.

Fresh360

You sir have stole my thunder may Zeus strike you down : (

J Davis

You’re right… Their service is so far and above the rest we should all be willing to send our wallets to them along with our bill and allow them to just take what they want. In Verizon we trust….

http://randomphantasmagoria.com/ Shawn

Take notes, ladies and gentlemen. This is sarcasm at its finest. Well played, sir.

ßen Murphy

Shawn, I love you.

starnovsky

Verizon service is truly great, but everything else about this company is not. I made my choice (left Verizon) this spring, so far it was a smooth sailing, didn’t regret a moment. Yes, I lost a bit of a service quality (say, 10%) but saved 200% from my bill and was able to get a phone which I fully own and control. For me it’s worth it.

Trueblue711

I’ve changed my mindset to view them as a luxury phone service. It’s like paying more for a better car, house, food, etc. Yes, you’re paying more, but at least you’re getting something better. Now if I was on AT&T that would be a whole other story…

I still get mad when they raise prices though!

drose0

What? They aren’t raising the deductible from $99 to $149 as well?

Tyler Durden

They would never. They aren’t apple.

Go Hawkeyes

Don’t be so sure. They raised it once a few years ago.

tomn1ce

Don’t give them any ideas

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